Red Hat has long been a dominant player in the world of Linux distributions, with its popular Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) operating system powering servers and enterprise environments around the world. However, in recent years, Red Hat’s actions have led to some backlash from the open-source community and some of its competitors.

One such competitor is Wind River, a company known for its embedded and IoT solutions. In response to what it saw as Red Hat’s negative impact on the open-source community, Wind River decided to release its own Linux distribution, called eLxr Pro.

So, what exactly did Red Hat do to prompt this response from Wind River? One major issue was Red Hat’s decision to shift its focus away from the community-centric approach that had been a cornerstone of its success. Instead, Red Hat started to prioritize its commercial interests, leading to decisions that many in the open-source community saw as detrimental to the spirit of collaboration and innovation that had defined the Linux ecosystem.

For example, Red Hat decided to stop releasing the source code for certain components of its operating system, making it more difficult for developers to contribute to and modify the software. Additionally, Red Hat made changes to its licensing terms that restricted how users could use its software, further alienating some in the open-source community.

In response to these actions, Wind River saw an opportunity to provide a Linux distribution that stayed true to the principles of openness and collaboration. eLxr Pro was developed with a strong emphasis on transparency, allowing developers to easily access and modify the source code to suit their needs. Wind River also made a commitment to fostering a community-driven approach to development, ensuring that users had a voice in shaping the direction of the distribution.

By offering a viable alternative to Red Hat’s commercialized approach, Wind River’s eLxr Pro has garnered attention from developers and organizations looking for a Linux distribution that prioritizes openness and community collaboration. While Red Hat remains a major player in the Linux ecosystem, Wind River’s response to its actions serves as a reminder of the importance of staying true to the values that have made open source software so successful.